This disclosure relates generally to wood burning stoves. In particular, this disclosure relates to wood burning stoves having a baffle for regulation of air flow within the stove, and methods of using the stove.
Whether for providing heat, for purely decorative purposes, or for value enhancement, wood burning stoves have become commonplace in today""s building trades for both residential and commercial applications for situations where a fireplace is not feasible or desired. In some instances, wood burning stoves have been inserted into fireplace boxes. Stoves are often preferred over open fireplaces because many wood stoves have the capability to heat large spaces efficiently. Most stoves are able to burn for extended periods of time, such as over night, without refueling or reloading, further enhancing the preference over fireplaces.
With this extended burning of wood as the primary fuel comes the challenge of providing an efficient stove that meets the Environmental Protection Agency requirements and state agency requirements for emissions, including particulate material and gases. Many wood burning stoves utilize a catalytic combustor to finalize the burning process and reduce particulate materials and gases. However, the catalytic combustors can become fouled or otherwise rendered inefficient, especially when other than selected materials are burned within the stove. Additionally, the catalytic combustors are quite expensive and must be periodically replaced.
In order to avoid using a catalytic combustor, many stove designs are aimed at providing optimum airflow within the burning chamber so that complete combustion, reduction of particulates and unburned gases, and optimum heat generation are obtained. The airflow patterns are generally created by the addition of various channels and/or baffles within the stove, in particular, within the main combustion chamber, to create a secondary combustion chamber. The use of fixed or stationary baffle plates for manipulating air flow within the combustion chamber are known for wood burning stoves, and are discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,876 (Henry et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,843 (Henry et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,794 (Henry et al.), each of which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference.
Depending on the design of the various channels or baffles, loading of wood into the stove can be hampered. For example, some baffles are positioned extending essentially parallel to the top surface of the stove. If the stove is a top-loading stove, that is, where wood can be inserted into the combustion chamber through the top surface of the stove, such baffles hinder access to the combustion chamber. What is desired is an improved stove design having optimal air flow patterns to increase combustion efficiency, reduce emissions, and provide easy access to the combustion chamber.
The present disclosure provides a stove, in particular, a wood burning stove, that has a baffle assembly disposed within to provide optimal air flow patterns within the stove. A portion of the baffle assembly is pivotable to provide easy access to the combustion chamber to allow loading of fuel into the stove.
In particular, the stove includes a stove body which defines a stove exterior, a stove interior, and a combustion chamber disposed within the interior. A baffle plate is disposed within the combustion chamber, the baffle plate being moveable from a xe2x80x9cclosedxe2x80x9d configuration to an xe2x80x9copenxe2x80x9d configuration. When in the xe2x80x9cclosedxe2x80x9d configuration, the baffle plate is positioned substantially horizontally and is spaced apart from at least a portion of at least one wall. When in the xe2x80x9copenxe2x80x9d configuration, the baffle plate is positioned substantially vertically such that a by-pass pathway is created between a top access door and the combustion chamber. This allows for easy top-loading of fuel.
When in the xe2x80x9cclosedxe2x80x9d configuration, air within the combustion chamber flows from the combustion chamber, around the baffle plate, through a passage between the baffle plate and the stove body, and out a chimney. When in the xe2x80x9copenxe2x80x9d configuration, a by-pass pathway is formed separate from the passage, so that air within the combustion chamber flows from the combustion chamber, through the by-pass pathway, and out the chimney. The by-pass pathway does not exist if the baffle plate is in the closed configuration. Preferably, the baffle plate is pivotable.
An air manifold is preferably present within the combustion chamber, having air flow communication with the exterior of the stove. In one embodiment, the air manifold provides a pivot point for the baffle plate. In one such embodiment, the baffle plate and the air manifold pivot together.
It will also be understood that while a wood fueled stove will be described with respect to the preferred embodiments, the disclosure is not limited to wood burning structures, but could equally apply to stove using other fuel sources. Further, while the present disclosure will be described made of sheet metal material, the disclosure is not to be limited to any particular material, but could be used with other known constructions, such as ceramic and other known materials. These and other modifications of the disclosure will be understood by those skilled in the art in view of the following description of the disclosure, with reference to specific preferred embodiments thereof.